Guest Author

Great Teachers Make Innovative Solutions Possible

Guest Author: Dr. Cory Steiner, Superintendent of Northern Cass School District (ND), Learner-Centered Collaborative Advisory Council member Northern Cass is a mentor school district in the 2023-24 Learner-Centered Connections program Several years ago Northern Cass School District in North Dakota acknowledged that despite traditional markers indicating things were “good” across the district they wanted "great"—a personalized, competency-based student learning experience that tended to whole learner-outcomes.  Under the leadership of Superintendent Cory Steiner, PhD, the district reinvented what school could be by taking a learner-centered approach that eliminated percentage grades, honored student interests, and put the focus of learning on the ...

By |March 5th, 2024|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , , , |Comments Off on Great Teachers Make Innovative Solutions Possible

Growth Through Connections

By: Dr. Leighangela Brady, Superintendent, National School District (CA) Dr. Brady shares a first-hand perspective from the Fall 2023 Learner-Centered Connections in-person convening in San Diego, CA where the cohort visited four innovative public schools and Illumina, a biotech company. Hearing directly from a student ambassador panel at Bostonia Global High School in the Cajon Valley School District. National School District's Executive Cabinet team recently had the privilege of attending the Learner-Centered Collaborative's Connections Convening, an extraordinary event held on October 9 – 10, 2023, in our vibrant city of San Diego, California. This event brought together ...

By |November 3rd, 2023|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , , , , |Comments Off on Growth Through Connections

All Goals Are Not Created Equal

Guest blog post by Erik Burmeister Erik Burmeister is the Founder and Principal of Solutionary Advisors, a member of the Learner-Centered Collaborative Advisory Council, and the former Superintendent of Menlo Park City School District in California.      Take any course. Ask any expert. Read any book. When it comes to curating a portrait of leadership, the importance of goal setting is central to the narrative. In education, we write goals on our school site plans, add goals to our evaluations, develop goals for our strategic plans, and require goals from our students.    If goals are so transformational, why ...

By |October 13th, 2023|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , |Comments Off on All Goals Are Not Created Equal

Designing Units with Student Choice, Real-World Problem Solving, and Technology Integration

By: Vince Fabella, Math Teacher & Technology Lead at Laguna Beach Unified School District Student engagement and technology integration are crucial components of effective teaching and learning, helping to promote interactive, dynamic, and creative problem-solving approaches that empower learners. Although the use of educational technology has increased significantly in recent years, there may be a temptation to abandon it in favor of traditional teaching methods. However, it’s essential to recognize that technology should be viewed as a tool to enhance instruction, rather than a substitute for effective teaching practices. Here, I’ll explore how Laguna Beach USD utilized the T3 Framework ...

By |May 30th, 2023|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , |Comments Off on Designing Units with Student Choice, Real-World Problem Solving, and Technology Integration

Can AI Solve the Uniquely Human Challenges Facing Educators Today?

Author: Dr. Beth Holland, Partner, The Learning Accelerator   Conversations in the education sector have converged in the past several weeks around three seemingly unrelated topics: pandemic recovery, educator shortages, and ChatGPT.  Evidence suggests that schools continue to exist in a state of pandemic recovery, with students struggling academically and social-emotionally. At the same time, persistent staffing shortages make it difficult to meet students’ needs and reduce burdens on educators’ time. Despite initial trepidation, scarcity of resources could drive leaders and policymakers to the conclusion that AI and intelligent tutors like ChatGPT are “good enough” to address these challenges. However, ...

By |March 8th, 2023|Categories: Blog|Tags: , |Comments Off on Can AI Solve the Uniquely Human Challenges Facing Educators Today?
  • Leadership Coaching

Unlocking Leadership Potential with Coaching

Dr. Bryanna Norton has been an educator for the last 19 years and is currently a Middle School Principal at Hidden Valley Middle School located in Escondido, California. Prior to her principal position she worked for the San Diego County Office of Education as a Coordinator of Human Resources coaching and mentoring administrators, and was also a Coordinator of the Designated Subjects Program that credentialed CTE and Adult Education teachers. She was also a High School Assistant Principal and high school teacher and coach. Her dissertation, The Essential Characteristics of Coaching that Secondary Principals Perceive Support Effective Leadership at ...

By |December 5th, 2022|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , |Comments Off on Unlocking Leadership Potential with Coaching

Spark Online Academy: Designing a Learner-Centered Online Public School

Colorado public school Spark Online Academy took the best of pandemic online learning and created a learner-centered, online school steeped in personal connection and engaging learning experiences. Read their story.

By |July 26th, 2022|Categories: Impact Stories|Tags: , , |Comments Off on Spark Online Academy: Designing a Learner-Centered Online Public School
  • Vickery Creek Elementary

Forsyth County Schools: Fostering Learner Agency in a 3rd Grade Classroom

There are many powerful examples of teachers incorporating learner agency into their instructional frameworks. See how a 3rd grade teacher in at Vickery Elementary in Forsyth County Schools in Georgia grounds learning in choice and ownership.

By |November 16th, 2021|Categories: Case Studies|Tags: , |Comments Off on Forsyth County Schools: Fostering Learner Agency in a 3rd Grade Classroom
  • WestEd Lit Review

WestEd Altitude Learning Literature Review

This literature review provides an overview of best practices and common discourses that have shaped professional learning, with an emphasis on teaching that supports learner-centered practices. The literature reviews summarizes these findings by framing the goal of professional learning (PL) for learner- centered practices (LCP) as the development of focused, flexible professionals. These three themes— focused, flexible, and professionals—were encountered in various forms across the literature, and they provide a helpful framing for organizing our findings toward the goal of engendering learner-centered practices.

By |July 2nd, 2021|Categories: Impact Reports|Tags: |Comments Off on WestEd Altitude Learning Literature Review
  • smiling-student-with-laptop

Supporting District Change Through Learner-Centered Leadership

The Moving Forward coalition formed to bring together and apply the best thinking and learning from the field in a way that accounts for compliance-related constraints, provides a convenient, one-stop-shop for SEA leaders, and delivers these services at a competitive rate while engaging experienced practitioners.

By |May 4th, 2021|Categories: Blog|Tags: , |9 Comments
  • young-girl-on-a-video-call-with-her-teacher

Supporting Statewide Change Through Virtual Course Access Models

The Moving Forward coalition formed to bring together and apply the best thinking and learning from the field in a way that accounts for compliance-related constraints, provides a convenient, one-stop-shop for SEA leaders, and delivers these services at a competitive rate while engaging experienced practitioners.

  • young-girl-holding-a-mug-and-working-on-her-laptop

Supporting Statewide Change Through New Models for Remote Education

The Moving Forward coalition formed to bring together and apply the best thinking and learning from the field in a way that accounts for compliance-related constraints, provides a convenient, one-stop-shop for SEA leaders, and delivers these services at a competitive rate while engaging experienced practitioners.

By |May 4th, 2021|Categories: Blog|Tags: , |13 Comments
  • family-with-young-child-reading-together

Supporting Statewide Change Through Microgrants to Families

The Moving Forward coalition formed to bring together and apply the best thinking and learning from the field in a way that accounts for compliance-related constraints, provides a convenient, one-stop-shop for SEA leaders, and delivers these services at a competitive rate while engaging experienced practitioners.

  • Arcadia Unified School District

A Question of Trust: The Arcadia Unified Better Together Project

Arcadia Unified School District Superintendent, David Vanasdall, was visiting classrooms and noticed that every student in a kindergarten classroom had produced the exact same piece of artwork. It struck him in that moment how the learning experiences in many cases were at odds with the aspirations that they shared as a community.

By |May 4th, 2021|Categories: Impact Reports|Tags: |15 Comments

Hawaii Public Charter Schools: Collaborating to Scale and Sustain Competency-Based Learning

Brought together by a shared vision to create a more expansive student transcript reflecting whole child learning, charter schools in Hawaii offer a glimpse into their process—from vision to implementation.

By |February 4th, 2021|Categories: Case Studies|Tags: , |Comments Off on Hawaii Public Charter Schools: Collaborating to Scale and Sustain Competency-Based Learning
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